Online shopping fests becoming interesting

With increasing internet penetration in China (over 53 per cent of the total 1.37 billion population), visits to shopping malls have been digitised for the convenience of millennial, the drivers of online shopping, who admit to impulsive shopping online a trend that mirrors in India as well.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, one of the world's largest retailers, has been celebrating the country's ability to buy in abundance through its shopping fests since 2009.

Alibaba Group Chief Marketing Officer Chris Tung says that festivals are not just about offering consumer’s products at great prices, but are platforms for brands to explore newer and more innovative ways of engaging with people. It is to showcase how technology presents an opportunity for consumer engagement.

The company has brought in "new retail", which is equipping brick and mortar stores with technological mediums, allowing buyers to scan product barcodes for information about them, pay for them digitally, and even have them delivered at home.

Through its 11.11 shopping festival, held on November 11 each year on Singles' Day, the company has turned the country's purchases into a spectacle for the world.

The online shopping festivals, particularly, have succeeded in turning non-believers in digital purchasing into believers who are eager to grab the deals on offer.

India's leading e-tailerFlipkart and Amazon, along with other digital platforms, have managed to get Indians not just from metros, but also from smaller towns to go on an online shopping spree largely through their shopping festivals.

The average Indian shopper, who was known to put his/her money on a product -- that too a brand he or she has known for long -- only after making a store visit, was suddenly seen waiting for Big Billion Day (Flipkart's online sales event) or Amazon's Great Indian Festival to purchase a mobile phone.

From kitchen knives, plastic containers, televisions, refrigerators to smart phones and even gold and diamond jewellery, Indians have now turned themselves into devoted digital consumers who boldly shop for their daily needs, luxuries and fancies online.